1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a broom construction and, more particularly, to a wound broom construction including a tubular metal handle and an outer handle covering for facilitating construction and use of the broom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional wound brooms, such as corn brooms, have typically been constructed by providing a wooden handle and attaching broom corn to one end thereof. The broom corn is attached to the broom handle in a winding operation wherein the wooden handle is mounted within a chuck which rotates the handle while the broom corn is fed onto the handle. The broom corn is retained on the handle by a winding wire which wraps around the handle as the handle is rotated.
As a result of suitable wood for forming the handle becoming more expensive and difficult to obtain, alternative broom constructions have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,587 to Schnabl discloses a broom construction including a handle formed of convolutely wound and glued paper. While such a construction decreases the use of the amount of wood used for a broom, this broom construction may be found to lack the strength provided by a wood construction, and further may be subject to greater deterioration of the handle than may be found in other constructions.
In addition, prior art wound brooms have typically included handles having smooth surfaces, such as a painted surface on the exterior of the handle. Such surfaces are susceptible to slipping in the user's hands and thus frequently do not provide an optimum grip for the broom.